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MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

STUDENT NOTES: BIO101
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY (FINALS)
THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Function of the Nose

• The only externally visible part of the
respiratory system that functions by:
- Providing an airway for respiration
- Moistening and warming the entering
air
- Filtering inspired air and cleaning it of
foreign matter
- Serving as a resonating chamber for
speech
- Housing the olfactory receptors

• Consists of the respiratory and conducting Structure of the Nose

zones
• Respiratory zone
- Site of gas exchange
- Consists of bronchioles, alveolar ducts,
and alveoli
• Conducting zone
- Provides rigid conduits for air to reach
the sites of gas exchange
- Includes all other respiratory structures
(e.g., nose, nasal cavity, pharynx,
trachea)
• Respiratory muscles – diaphragm and other
• The nose is divided into two regions
- The external nose, including the root,
muscles that promote ventilation
bridge, dorsum nasi, and apex
- The internal nasal cavity
Major Functions of the Respiratory System
• To supply the body with oxygen and dispose
• Philtrum – a shallow vertical groove inferior
to the apex
of carbon dioxide
• Respiration – four distinct processes must
• The external nares (nostrils) are bounded
laterally by the alae
happen
• Pulmonary ventilation – moving air into and Nasal Cavity
out of the lungs
• External respiration – gas exchange
between the lungs and the blood
• Transport – transport of oxygen and carbon
dioxide between the lungs and tissues
• Internal respiration – gas exchange
between systemic blood vessels and tissues

• Lies in and posterior to the external nose

• Is divided by a midline nasal septum
• Opens posteriorly into the nasal pharynx via Pharynx
internal nares • Funnel-shaped tube of skeletal muscle that
• The ethmoid and sphenoid bones form the connects to the:
roof • Nasal cavity and mouth superiorly
• The floor is formed by the hard and soft • Larynx and esophagus inferiorly
palates • Extends from the base of the skull to the
• Vestibule – nasal cavity superior to the level of the sixth cervical vertebra
nares • It is divided into three regions:
• Vibrissae – hairs that filter coarse particles - Nasopharynx
from inspired air - Oropharynx
• Olfactory mucosa - Laryngopharynx
- Lines the superior nasal cavity
- Contains smell receptors
• Respiratory mucosa
- Lines the balance of the nasal cavity
- Glands secrete mucus containing
lysozyme and defensins to help destroy
bacteria
• Inspired air is:
- Humidified by the high water content
in the nasal cavity
- Warmed by rich plexuses of capillaries
• Ciliated mucosal cells remove contaminated
mucus
• Superior, medial, and inferior conchae:
• Protrude medially from the lateral walls
Nasopharynx
• Increase mucosal area
- Lies posterior to the nasal cavity,
• Enhance air turbulence and help filter air inferior to the sphenoid, and superior
• Sensitive mucosa triggers sneezing when to the level of the soft palate
stimulated by irritating particles - Strictly an air passageway
- Lined with pseudostratified columnar
Paranasal Sinuses epithelium
- Closes during swallowing to prevent
food from entering the nasal cavity
- The pharyngeal tonsil lies high on the
posterior wall
- Pharyngotympanic (auditory) tubes
open into the lateral walls

Oropharynx
- Extends inferiorly from the level of the
soft palate to the epiglottis
- Opens to the oral cavity via an archway
called the fauces
- Serves as a common passageway for
food and air
- The epithelial lining is protective
stratified squamous epithelium
• Sinuses in bones that surround the nasal - Palatine tonsils lie in the lateral walls of
cavity the fauces
• Sinuses lighten the skull and help to warm - Lingual tonsil covers the base of the
and moisten the air tongue
 Laryngopharynx • Mucosal folds superior to the true vocal
- Serves as a common passageway for food cords
and air
- Lies posterior to the upright epiglottis
• Have no part in sound production
- Extends to the larynx, where the
Vocal Production
respiratory and digestive pathways diverge
• Speech – intermittent release of expired air
Larynx (Voice Box) while opening and closing the glottis
• Attaches to the hyoid bone and opens into • Pitch – determined by the length and
the laryngopharynx superiorly tension of the vocal cords
• Continuous with the trachea posteriorly • Loudness – depends upon the force at
• The three functions of the larynx are:
which the air rushes across the vocal cords
- To provide a patent airway • The pharynx resonates, amplifies, and
- To act as a switching mechanism to route enhances sound quality
air and food into the proper channels • Sound is “shaped” into language by action
- To function in voice production of the pharynx, tongue, soft palate, and lips

Framework of the Larynx Sphincter Functions of the Larynx

• Both the epiglottis and the vocal cords can
close the larynx
• The larynx is closed during coughing,
sneezing, and Valsalva’s maneuver
• Valsalva’s maneuver
• Air is temporarily held in the lower
respiratory tract by closing the glottis
• Causes intra-abdominal pressure to rise
when abdominal muscles contract
• Empties the bladder or rectum
• Acts as a splint to stabilize the trunk when
lifting heavy loads

• Cartilages (hyaline) of the larynx are: Trachea

- Shield-shaped anterosuperior thyroid
cartilage with a midline laryngeal
prominence (Adam’s apple)
- Signet ring–shaped anteroinferior
cricoid cartilage
• Three pairs of small arytenoid, cuneiform,
and corniculate cartilages
• Epiglottis – elastic cartilage that covers the
laryngeal inlet during swallowing

Vocal Ligaments
• Flexible and mobile tube extending from
• Attach the arytenoid cartilages to the the larynx into the mediastinum
thyroid cartilage
• Composed of three layers
• Composed of elastic fibers that form - Mucosa – made up of goblet cells and
mucosal folds called true vocal cords ciliated epithelium
• The medial opening between them is the - Submucosa – connective tissue deep to
glottis the mucosa
- Adventitia – outermost layer made of
• They vibrate to produce sound as air rushes
C-shaped rings of hyaline cartilage
up from the lungs
• False vocal cords
 Conducting Zone: Bronchi Respiratory Zone
• Defined by the presence of alveoli; begins
as terminal bronchioles feed into
respiratory bronchioles
• Respiratory bronchioles lead to alveolar
ducts, then to terminal clusters of alveolar
sacs composed of alveoli
• Approximately 300 million alveoli:
• Account for most of the lungs’ volume
• Provide tremendous surface area for gas
exchange

• The carina of the last tracheal cartilage Respiratory Membrane

marks the end of the trachea and the
beginning of the right and left bronchi
• Air reaching the bronchi is:
• Warm and cleansed of impurities
• Saturated with water vapor
• Bronchi subdivide into secondary bronchi,
each supplying a lobe of the lungs
• Air passages undergo 23 orders of
branching in the lungs

Conducting Zone: Bronchial Tree

• This air-blood barrier is composed of:

- Alveolar and capillary walls
• Their fused basal laminas
• Alveolar walls:
- Are a single layer of type I epithelial
cells
- Permit gas exchange by simple
diffusion
- Secrete angiotensin converting enzyme
(ACE)
• Type II cells secrete surfactant

• Tissue walls of bronchi mimic that of the Alveoli

trachea
• As conducting tubes become smaller,
structural changes occur
• Cartilage support structures change
• Epithelium types change
• Amount of smooth muscle increases
• Bronchioles
- Consist of cuboidal epithelium
- Have a complete layer of circular
smooth muscle
- Lack cartilage support and mucus-
producing cells • Surrounded by fine elastic fibers
• Contain open pores that:
- Connect adjacent alveoli
 - Allow air pressure throughout the lung • Pulmonary veins – carry oxygenated blood
to be equalized from respiratory zones to the heart
- House macrophages that keep alveolar
surfaces sterile • Bronchial arteries – provide systemic blood
to the lung tissue
Gross Anatomy of the Lungs - Arise from aorta and enter the lungs at
the hilus
- Supply all lung tissue except the alveoli
- Bronchial veins anastomose with
pulmonary veins
• Pulmonary veins carry most venous blood
back to the heart

Pleurae

• Lungs occupy all of the thoracic cavity

except the mediastinum
• Root – site of vascular and bronchial
attachments
• Costal surface – anterior, lateral, and
posterior surfaces in contact with the ribs
• Apex – narrow superior tip • Thin, double-layered serosa

• Base – inferior surface that rests on the • Parietal pleura

diaphragm - Covers the thoracic wall and superior
face of the diaphragm
• Hilus – indentation that contains pulmonary - Continues around heart and between
and systemic blood vessels lungs
Lungs • Visceral, or pulmonary, pleura
- Covers the external lung surface
• Cardiac notch (impression) – cavity that - Divides the thoracic cavity into three
accommodates the heart chambers
• Left lung – separated into upper and lower • The central mediastinum
lobes by the oblique fissure - Two lateral compartments, each
• Right lung – separated into three lobes by containing a lung
the oblique and horizontal fissures
• There are 10 bronchopulmonary segments Breathing
in each lung • Breathing, or pulmonary ventilation,
consists of two phases
Blood Supply to Lungs - Inspiration – air flows into the lungs
• Lungs are perfused by two circulations: - Expiration – gases exit the lungs
pulmonary and bronchial
Pressure Relationships in the Thoracic
• Pulmonary arteries – supply systemic Cavity
venous blood to be oxygenated
- Branch profusely, along with bronchi • Respiratory pressure is always described
- Ultimately feed into the pulmonary relative to atmospheric pressure
capillary network surrounding the • Atmospheric pressure (Patm)
alveoli - Pressure exerted by the air surrounding
the body
 - Negative respiratory pressure is less • A mechanical process that depends on
than Patm volume changes in the thoracic cavity
- Positive respiratory pressure is greater
than Patm • Volume changes lead to pressure changes,
which lead to the flow of gases to equalize
• Intrapulmonary pressure (Palv) – pressure pressure
within the alveoli
• Intrapleural pressure (Pip) – pressure within V → P → F (flow of
the pleural cavity gases)

Pressure Relationships Boyles Law

• Intrapulmonary pressure and intrapleural • Boyles law – the relationship between the
pressure fluctuate with the phases of pressure and volume of gases
breathing
• Intrapulmonary pressure always eventually P1V1 = P2V2
equalizes itself with atmospheric pressure
• Intrapleural pressure is always less than • P = pressure of a gas in mm Hg
intrapulmonary pressure and atmospheric • V = volume in cubic millimeters
pressure • Subscripts 1 and 2 represent the initial and
• Two forces act to pull the lungs away from resulting conditions, respectively
the thoracic wall, promoting lung collapse
• Elasticity of lungs causes them to assume Inspiration
smallest possible size • The diaphragm and external intercostal
• Surface tension of alveolar fluid draws muscles (inspiratory muscles) contract and
alveoli to their smallest possible size the rib cage rises

• Opposing force – elasticity of the chest wall • The lungs are stretched and intrapulmonary
pulls the thorax outward to enlarge the volume increases
lungs • Intrapulmonary pressure drops below
atmospheric pressure (−1 mm Hg)
Lung Collapse • Air flows into the lungs, down its pressure
• Caused by equalization of the intrapleural gradient, until intrapleural pressure =
pressure with the intrapulmonary pressure atmospheric pressure
• Transpulmonary pressure keeps the airways
open Expiration
• Transpulmonary pressure – difference • Inspiratory muscles relax and the rib cage
between the intrapulmonary and descends due to gravity
intrapleural pressures (Palv – Pip) • Thoracic cavity volume decreases

Pulmonary Ventilation
• Elastic lungs recoil passively and
intrapulmonary volume decreases
• Intrapulmonary pressure rises above
atmospheric pressure (+1 mm Hg)
• Gases flow out of the lungs down the
pressure gradient until intrapulmonary
pressure is 0

Physical Factors Influencing Ventilation:

Airway Resistance
• Friction is the major nonelastic source of
resistance to airflow
• The relationship between flow (F), pressure
(P), and resistance (R) is:
F = P
R
• The amount of gas flowing into and out of Lung Compliance
the alveoli is directly proportional to P, the • The ease with which lungs can be expanded
pressure gradient between the atmosphere • Specifically, the measure of the change in
and the alveoli lung volume that occurs with a given
change in transpulmonary pressure
P =  (Patm – Palv)
• Determined by two main factors
- Distensibility of the lung tissue and
• Gas flow is inversely proportional to surrounding thoracic cage
resistance with the greatest resistance - Surface tension of the alveoli
being in the medium-sized bronchi
Factors That Diminish Lung Compliance
Airway Resistance - Scar tissue or fibrosis that reduces the
natural resilience of the lungs
- Blockage of the smaller respiratory
passages with mucus or fluid
- Reduced production of surfactant
- Decreased flexibility of the thoracic
cage or its decreased ability to expand
• Examples include:
- Deformities of thorax
- Ossification of the costal cartilage
- Paralysis of intercostal muscles

Respiratory Volumes
• Tidal volume (TV) – air that moves into and
out of the lungs with each breath
(approximately 500 ml)
• Inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) – air that
can be inspired forcibly beyond the tidal
• As airway resistance rises, breathing volume
movements become more strenuous (2100–3200 ml)
• Severely constricted or obstructed • Expiratory reserve volume (ERV) – air that
bronchioles: can be evacuated from the lungs after a
tidal expiration (1000–1200 ml)
• Can prevent life-sustaining ventilation
• Can occur during acute asthma attacks
• Residual volume (RV) – air left in the lungs
after strenuous expiration (1200 ml)
which stops ventilation
• Epinephrine release via the sympathetic Respiratory Capacities
nervous system dilates bronchioles and
reduces air resistance
• Inspiratory capacity (IC) – total amount of
air that can be inspired after a tidal
expiration (IRV + TV)
Alveolar Surface Tension
• Surface tension – the attraction of liquid
• Functional residual capacity (FRC) – amount
of air remaining in the lungs after a tidal
molecules for one another at a liquid-gas
expiration
interface
(RV + ERV)
• The liquid coating the alveolar surface is
• Vital capacity (VC) – the total amount of
always acting to reduce the alveoli to the
exchangeable air (TV + IRV + ERV)
smallest possible size
• Surfactant, a detergent-like complex,
• Total lung capacity (TLC) – sum of all lung
volumes (approximately 6000 ml in males)
reduces surface tension and helps keep the
alveoli from collapsing
 Dead Space • Slow, deep breathing increases AVR and
• Anatomical dead space – volume of the rapid, shallow breathing decreases AVR
conducting respiratory passages (150 ml)
• Alveolar dead space – alveoli that cease to Basic Properties of Gases: Henry’s Law
act in gas exchange due to collapse or • When a mixture of gases is in contact with a
obstruction liquid, each gas will dissolve in the liquid in
• Total dead space – sum of alveolar and proportion to its partial pressure
anatomical dead spaces • The amount of gas that will dissolve in a
liquid also depends upon its solubility
Pulmonary Function Tests • Various gases in air have different
solubilities:
- Carbon dioxide is the most soluble
- Oxygen is 1/20th as soluble as carbon
dioxide
- Nitrogen is practically insoluble in
plasma

Composition of Alveolar Gas

• Spirometer – an instrument consisting of a

hollow bell inverted over water, used to
evaluate respiratory function
• Spirometry can distinguish between:
- Obstructive pulmonary disease –
increased airway resistance
- Restrictive disorders – reduction in
total lung capacity from structural or
functional lung changes
• Total ventilation – total amount of gas flow
into or out of the respiratory tract in one
minute • The atmosphere is mostly oxygen and
nitrogen, while alveoli contain more carbon
• Forced vital capacity (FVC) – gas forcibly dioxide and water vapor
expelled after taking a deep breath
• These difference result from:
• Forced expiratory volume (FEV) – the - Gas exchanges in the lungs – oxygen
amount of gas expelled during specific time diffuses from the alveoli and carbon
intervals of the FVC dioxide diffuses into the alveoli
• Increases in TLC, FRC, and RV may occur as - Air is humidified by the conducting
a result of obstructive disease pathways
• Reduction in VC, TLC, FRC, and RV result • The mixing of alveolar gas occurs with each
from restrictive disease breath

Alveolar Ventilation External Respiration: Pulmonary Gas

• Alveolar ventilation rate (AVR) – measures Exchange
the flow of fresh gases into and out of the • Factors influencing the movement of
alveoli during a particular time oxygen and carbon dioxide across the
respiratory membrane
- Partial pressure gradients and gas
solubilities
 - Matching of alveolar ventilation and • Lungs continue to mature and more alveoli
pulmonary blood perfusion are formed until young adulthood
- Structural characteristics of the
respiratory membrane • Respiratory efficiency decreases in old age

Developmental Aspects
• Olfactory placodes invaginates into
olfactory pits by the 4th week Prepared by:

• Laryngotracheal buds are present by the 5th

week
Doren Venus P. Otod, RMT
• Mucosae of the bronchi and lung alveoli are
present by the 8th week
• By the 28th week, a baby born prematurely Reference: .
can breathe on its own 1. Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B.(2014).
Principles of anatomy & physiology
• During fetal life, the lungs are filled with
(14th ed.). U.S.A : Wiley (G12 / T638)
fluid and blood bypasses the lungs
• Gas exchange takes place via the placenta 2. Marieb, E.N.(2014).Essential of human
• At birth, respiratory centers are activated, anatomy & physiology (10th ed.).
alveoli inflate, and lungs begin to function Singapore : Pearson. (G12 / M338)
• Respiratory rate is highest in newborns and
slows until adulthood